Taylor Swift sparks voter registration spike nationwide

Ernestine Jimenez

"We are up to 65,000 registrations in a single 24-hour period since T. Swift's post", saidKamariGuthrie, director of communications for Vote.org. By comparison, the site registered 56,669 new voters registered the entire month of August and 190,178 in September.

The Vote.org site has also seen a surge, with 155,940 unique visitors in the past 24 hours, when the daily average is 14,078. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. Channeling the fear about the future that two-thirds of her generation faces, Swift connected her "Tennessee values" to critical votes that a member of Congress takes, chipping away at one of the most significant barriers to voting, which is seeing the tangible impact that participation can make. "It's rather evident and clear-I don't want to accuse her of this", he says before lobbing insulting accusations, "but I don't think she was the only one to write that post on Instagram".

Mr Trump defended the Republican candidate in Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn, and said he now liked Swift's music "25pc less".

That put the number of new voters registered on the site in October, to date, at 240,329.

Officials at Vote.org who analyzed the applications since Sunday also noticed a drastic shift in the demographics of those who have registered. Swift rebuked the Tennessee Congresswoman voting record that protects women against domestic violence.

Her latest comments were praised by many but also sparked a fierce backlash from Republican supporters.

That fantasy came crashing down on Tuesday, however, when Swift announced her support for equal rights and opposition to "systemic racism".

In addition to Bredesen, Swift endorsed Democratic U.S. Representative Jim Cooper for re-election in a Tennessee congressional race. The deadline for voter registration in many states was October 9.

Diane Pecknold, professor of women's and gender studies at the University of Louisville, said Swift's transition from country to pop has broadened her fan base.

"I've been very active in that and Taylor Swift will benefit by that", Blackburn said. (Swift appears to be referencing the sexual assault trial in which a local radio DJ was convicted of groping her at a meet-and-greet event).

Speaking on Monday, Mr Trump said Ms Blackburn was "doing a very good job" in Swift's home state.

The "Mine" singer then revealed the name of the candidate that she would be voting for, writing, "I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives". Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me.

Swift cast herself as an advocate for equal rights and explained her support for the Democratic candidates based on those concerns.

Swift's reach is massive, she has nearly 30 million more Twitter followers than President Donald Trump and has acquired a loyal fan base since her first album released 12 year ago.

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